Ice hardening technology, used by NASA and the European Space Agency to develop advanced rocket fuel, is now being used by production engineers at Bahco to manufacture a range of stainless steel hand tools and storage trolleys.
Stainless steel hard enough for trade and industrial work has previously been too brittle to use. Bahco says it has overcome this problem by using cryogenic techniques to give their stainless steel tools superb hardness and durability.
Using a conventional ferrous steel screwdriver or pliers can leave traces of ‘foreign object’ debris on stainless steel screws and other fasteners.
This causes them to oxidize and create extraneous rust, which is not only unsightly but can lead to serious corrosion and a threat to hygiene and safety if left untreated.
Known for its hygienic qualities and ease of cleaning, stainless steel is widely used in clean rooms, within food and pharmaceutical manufacturing, in hotels, pubs and restaurants and in the oil and gas, automotive and aerospace industries.
Its resistance to all weather conditions, corrosion and antacids makes it suitable for offshore applications.
Using stainless steel hand tools will reduce contractors’ costs by reducing the need and frequency to replace worn tools. Bahco says that demand for stainless steel screws and other fixings has grown by almost 70% over the past few years.
“This technical achievement provides further evidence of Bahco’s market leading innovation,” says Alan Rankin, who leads the brand’s industrial tools team in the UK and Ireland.
“Our designers’ breakthrough offers significant benefits to plumbers and installers required to work in any environment where corrosion must be avoided.”
Stainless steel tools are easily cleaned or sterilised and have excellent resistance to corrosion.
Bahco’s latest stainless steel tools are manufactured in AISI 420, a high strength steel with higher chromium content to resist corrosion. It is magnetic in all conditions and meets all DIN and ISO standards.
The new stainless steel range includes adjustable wrenches, double ring end offset wrenches and combination wrench sets, six plier types – box joint, combination, cutting, locking, long nose and slip nose – plus ball pein and sledge hammers.
Stainless steel slotted, Phillips, Pozidriv or Torx screwdrivers and bits remain available in a range of sizes, along with Allen keys, long ballpoint hex keys, and hexagon and long ball end hexagon offset screwdrivers.
New to the stainless steel range are hex sockets, ratchets, extensions, speed and ‘T’ handles, also universal joints.
Bahco now manufacture stainless steel tool storage and management trolleys, available in two sizes with hygienic, easily cleaned stainless steel profiled drawer liners.